Kootenai County students, teachers honored during NISTAR event

Several high school students from Kootenai County were honored April 22 during the annual North Idaho Student Teacher Achievement Recognition event at the Best Western Plus Coeur d'Alene Inn.

NISTAR was started by Chuck Kinsey, who was the principal of Lakeland High School in 1988 and later became the superintendent of the Lakeland Joint School District. The event is an Idaho Region 1 Principal's Association celebration that recognizes two students from each Region 1 high school. NISTAR students are selected because of their academic success and involvement in school and community activities. Each student had the opportunity to honor an educator who he or she feels has made an outstanding contribution to the NISTAR student’s scholastic development.

NISTAR 2024 students
• Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy: Piper Judd, Henry DePew
• Coeur d'Alene High School: Jacob King, Simone Gonzalez
• Genesis Preparatory Academy: Abbey Meyer, Beau Garwood
• Kootenai High School: Emma DeBoer, Blake John
• Lake City High School: Jesse Taylor, Nathan Edmonds
• Lakeland High School: Ethan Abbott, Sarah Smith
• Lakeside High School: Martina Rivera, Maryah Erickson
• Post Falls High School: Macy Uemoto, Tevin Burns
• Timberlake High School: Kylee Sorensen, Zachary Paslay

NISTAR 2024 teachers
• Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy: Lynda LeBlanc, Dana Fleming
• Coeur d'Alene High School: Kari Tapia, Erik Karns
• Genesis Preparatory Academy: Mike Couch
• Kootenai High School: Michael Stroh
• Lake City High School: Jesse Affeldt, Madison Seymour
• Lakeland High School: Shannon Hall, Nicholas Haynes
• Lakeside High School: Julie Miller, Scott Zuercher
• Post Falls High School: Chris Johnson, Gabe Lawson
• Timberlake High School: Chris Jarstad, Ryne Eberlin